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Aparna has graduated with Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech in December 2014. She has completed her Master's thesis under the advisement of Dr. Amy Pritchett at the Cognitive Engineering Center (CEC). Her research and work interests include aerospace systems safety and system integration.

During her Master's degree, she worked as a graduate research assistant on a NASA funded "Validation Elements for the Loss-of-Control Recovery Operations (VELCRO)" project at the CEC, which was also her thesis project. The goal of her research as a part of this project, was to define a simulation-based model to streamline the validation of complex aircraft systems through integration of their components. The thesis titled "Testing the Effects of Violating Component Axioms in Validation of Complex Aircraft Systems" involved identifying through simulation, emergent behavior arising due to the violation of key axiomatic conditions of the system components, in the form of their underlying assumptions and range of conditions within which the components operate. She also worked on a "Grand Challenge" project on "Design of a system for Orbital Debris Removal" with the Aerospace Systems Design Lab at Georgia Tech, prior to joining the CEC in May 2013.

Prior to being enrolled into the Master's degree program at Georgia Tech, she was working as a Design Engineer at Flowserve, Pump Engineering Center, Bangalore for 2.5 years. The work involved performing product engineering activities for the design center in Newark, UK and design and analysis of industrial pump components and assemblies.

Aparna received her Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from PES Institute of Technology at Bangalore, India, in June 2009. During her undergraduate studies, she was part of the PACE team on a Global Collaboration Project to design a Formula1 race car. Her final year project on manufacture of an enclosure for the cryogenic engine of the Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) was done at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Aerospace Division at Bangalore, which received the "best project" award.

Outside of work, Aparna enjoys travelling, reading, hiking, playing badminton, cooking. She is a 2nd Dan black belt in Taekwondo. As a part of the Yellow Jacket Flying Club at Georgia Tech, she has obtained a Private Pilot lisence for single engine airplanes. She also enjoys doing maintenance work on the club airplanes.